Sunday, June 29, 2008

The Grand Hotel



Here in Brighton is the Grand Hotel. Julie has stayed here during one of her scheduled area visits. In 1984 the Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher stayed here and was a target of an IRA terrorist hit. The hotel was bombed and left 5 people dead and about 35 injured. Part of her room was destroyed but she and her husband survived, as well as all government ministers that were in her group. As I looked around the lobby, a hotel employee told me the whole story. It is the most popular Hotel in the city and is almost impossible to get a last minute weekend room there.

Brighton


This weekend we sneaked off to Brighton for a get-away. The sun was out along with thousands of tourists on this South England coastal city. Julie posing on the pier, has been there before. Out of her 180 branches it is the home of her largest branch, with 56 employees. We spent two nights and had fun hanging out on the beach and exploring the town. Just an hour train ride gets us to the south coast. When the sun is out it seems like Hawaii.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Wimbeldon

Wimbeldon is the "Grand Slam" of tennis with a following of millions around the world. This week over 500,000 will attend the 13 day event. This is held at the All England Lawn tennis Club in Wimbeldon which is about 30 minutes north of where we live. The center court matches are of course the most popular and the hardest to get tickets for. People here enter a lottery to get tickets and as usual, big business gets a big part of those. We are not big tennis fans so we chose not to fight the massive crowds to get in. The first Wimbeldon event was in 1877 so it's been around a long time and is very popular.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Roundabout



This is part of UK driving that I struggle with the most. Here I'm looking down on this roundabout from our flat. As you come into one of these, always look to the right because they all go clockwise with no signal lights. Where I get confused is when someone keeps going around and exits on the road they came in from. Maybe like a legal U-Turn. To add to the confusion, there are buses, scooters, bicycles and trucks coming into these with pedestrians trying to cross. I can only compare it to a 4-way stop with 4 cars getting there at the same time. Who goes first! I have to go through 4 of these each time I go to play golf, and the same 4 coming back...It's messing up my game.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Gettin Some Sun


We have finally had some nice sunny days here. I had to capture this chap on the High street, getting a little sun on his lunch break. We do live on an island so the weather can turn real quick either way. When the weather is nice here, everybody hits the streets. We have a river walk that is packed with people in nice weather. It's not sunny Arizona but we take advantage of the weather when we can. And when it's a nasty day outside, my beautiful wife always brightens up my day. So I get the sun every day. I wonder how many points that'll get me!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

ASCOT



Ascot is the home of the world's most famous racecourse. Since 1768 Royal Ascot has been the centerpiece of the British social calendar, on this week each year. All four days this week the Queen would attend the races and it was quite an honor to see her and her Royal Court. A one hour train ride got us to the main gate where a very strict dress code required jackets and ties for men and dresses for women. Julie looked lovely, and fit the part very well as most women wore elaborate hats and formal dresses. I felt like an old goat herder because I wasn't wearing a top hat and tails like most men. Being an X-jockey, Julie was right at home in picking the winners. We placed our bets and won 60 pounds on a 5 pound bet in the first race. She was almost ready to quit her day job, but after the sixth and last race all the money was gone. The tradition after the races was to stay and sing songs with the crowd. Almost everyone stayed so we joined right in, knowing most of the songs. We met a fun couple from London who joined us for most of the day. We would compare this event to the Superbowl, the Kentucky Derby, and a world class fashion show, all in one.....Now that was fun!

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Moldy Situation


After 8 weeks of complaining about dark spots appearing on our walls, plumbers found that the shower drain was leaking. Being on a concrete sub floor the leak spread under the floor so we now have mold in every room. Now a plumber has fixed the leak and put two dehumidifiers in our flat. Here is a picture of one with the damp moldy wall behind. In the US, the health department would have us move out until it was corrected. Here in the damp UK it's not a health issue. So the idea is that the moisture is drawn out of the air and also pulled through the walls until it is dry enough to repaint. The dehumidifiers draw so much moisture that you can't even blink your eyes. And that's not the worst of it...We're scared to set a drink down because it might be empty when you reach for it again. It's not one bit funny!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Best Neighbors


Here is George, Lora and a cat named Lucky. I should be named Lucky with neighbors like these. I have spent about 7 months in the last 2 years remodeling the Chelan cabin, while living there myself. Every night Lora cooks a grand meal with all the trimmings, and I get invited. Since I hate my own cooking, she has kept me alive. George has always been there with help and advice. When you tackle a project like this you need a lot of help, and when it comes to mechanics he's forgot more than I ever knew. Couldn't have done it without them!

Monday, June 9, 2008

Horse'n Around


I got an invite to Wenatchee for dinner and to get reacquainted with old friends. After being gone for 8 years we forget all the great friends we've had. I spent the night with Don and Laura Mounter. When you stay there you have to work for your grub. So the job was to exercise the horses. Here Buck took me for a ride to the top of Eagle Rock overlooking the Wenatchee valley. Thanks Don!

Lady of The Lake


This Lady has been service since 1972. She makes daily trips to the head of the lake in the summer months, moving hundreds of tourists up and back. We've tucked in behind this big boat more than once when the lake has got really rough. The lady comes by our cabin on it's return trip each evening around 5 PM. That's the signal to lay down the tools, stop working and start happy hour.

Deck Rebuild



We have had this cabin since 1995, which is longer than any house we have owned. Now for the first time I'm having to rebuild my own work. With some hard winters these decks take a rough beating. I have been replacing rotted beams, railings, and posts, and recovering the decks with trex, which is a plastic product and will hold to the weather. It's hard on the old back, with every minute of work being bent over.

Cold Work


After 8 weeks in Chelan Washington I'm back home in England with Julie. The weather is gorgeous and now I can't catch up on the Blog, and give an update on the Chelan project. Here I am making my annual inspection on the lake bottom. I clean water pump screens and check buoy chains which rust incredibly fast in the lake. I've been doing underwater work in this lake and in the Columbia River for 25 years but it doesn't get any easier with water under 50 degrees.